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Visual programming fundamentally lacks the technical expressivity of code. It works well where the underlying technical "problem" is fairly stable and can be r

Visual programming fundamentally lacks the technical expressivity of code. It works well where the underlying technical "problem" is fairly stable and can be represented through a relatively small vocabulary of elements and relationships. So it works for some games because a lot of game engine concepts and even many popular game mechanics are established. The expressivity for those games is in the art and narrative layers above the technical layer. But even then, high-production value games and deeply innovate games can't make do with it, because they're pushing on the technical problem and need more expressivity. Likewise, it actually does work well for a variety of "normal" software domains and is used regularly. It's just the boundaries of these domains are narrow. Visual programming will always be around and will make stable domains more easily programmable, but there will also always be value in the greater expressivity of coding. -- That said: games also have special opportunity for being an art form, so doing something interesting within the constraints (as of a limited technical expressivity, modern pixel graphics, new games for old platforms, etc) is itself an artistic work to be appreciated. That extra benefit doesn't apply to plainly commercial projects.

swatcoder 4y ago
I'll add that this doesn't just apply to code. With the arrival of legible text generators like GPT-3, you can imagine someone writing pulp novels visually they do games. Pull in a detective, a victim, a murder weapon, set the tone to Doyle, and drag the slider to where you how long you want the chapter to be: voila, a new mystery suitable for the people who eat up 10 a day. But there'll still be room for authors who hand-craft new works that challenge or reject those pulp formulas, and readers who are bored by identifiable formula will be looking for them.

swatcoder 4y ago

I'll add that this doesn't just apply to code. With the arrival of legible text generators like GPT-3, you can imagine someone writing pulp novels visually they do games. Pull in a detective, a victim, a murder weapon, set the tone to Doyle, and drag the slider to where you how long you want the chapter to be: voila, a new mystery suitable for the people who eat up 10 a day. But there'll still be room for authors who hand-craft new works that challenge or reject those pulp formulas, and readers who are bored by identifiable formula will be looking for them.